No Rest for the Wicked
by ismokecrackama
Summary: The story of a man assigned as security detail for the Avatars, his conflicts and struggles, and wether or not it was all worth it. Review please, an experiment.
1. Chapter 1

**This is a new story mostly centring around one Character. I will be continuing Lead the Lost cause, however I wanted to try this out. Review if it works, It is an experiment. I know this chapter is short, but consider it a prologue.**

**Also this guy starts off 100% RDA, however that may change. I'm not sure in what direction this will go in, but let's just see!**

**Begins approximately the same time as Jake's arrival on Pandora. **

**Reviews are really appreciated :D!**

**(update: this chapter has been re-written in parts cause I'm trying to get the flow right. I always sound too rushed :( )**

_Death Row. _

The door to the cell opened.

"May I come in?"

The man sitting on the cot motioned an acknowledgement.

"Sure." he said in a gruff tone.

A waiter wheeling a cart upon which sat a gargantuan dish of lobster pasta and a 2L bottle of Coca Cola.

"Sorry about the coke. Surgeon says that it interferes with the..."

"Injection?" remarked the prisoner, finishing off the waiter's sentence.

"Yeah."

The prisoner sighed. "Well, I guess that's to be expected. Thank you."

The waiter nodded and quickly strode out of the room, swinging the door shut. A hand shot out and grabbed the door before it could lock automatically. The prisoner froze in mid mouthful.

"Hello?" he asked, swallowing his food.

A man in a black robe with a white collar walked in. A priest.

"Hello, my son." he said, "My name is father Garnet."

The prisoner looked him in the eye. "Reverend. You come to take my confession?"

Garnet nodded. "Avery Mason. Is that your name."

"Yes, it is."

The priest nodded again. "So... it says here you are being executed on seven accounts of high treason and several more of murder."

Avery laughed "I guess it could be called that."

"The pro environmental groups have been calling you an idol, an example for all to follow." continued the priest.

"I disagree."

"Pardon me? With what do you disagree with."

"Everything. It's all out of perspective." Avery shrugged "It's been looked at in black and white. The absolute is being focused on, the in between being thrown into whatever pile of moral ground without the motives or reasoning being consdered."

Garnet frowned. "You did jeopardize an important part of humanity's future."

"Fair enough. To be honest, my reasoning was petty and stupid."

"And what was your reasoning?" enquired Garnet

Avery spooned another morsel of lobster into his mouth. He chewed thoughtfully for awhile before responding.

"Revenge. Spite. Anger. Mostly those three. Not intelligence. That much is obvious. Nobody really knows what happened there, do they?"

Garnet looked at the young man seated before him. "Well, if it is something different that did happen, what was it?"

Avery put his spoon down and poured himself a glass of the cola.

"You know, reverend?" he said, offering the priest some "You are honest to god, the first person to ask me that question."

Garnet kindly refused the offered coca cola.

Avery continued. "Well, it's a fairly long story. I'll tell you some of it, you'll have to decide the rest for yourself. And at the end, I have a question for you."

The Priest motioned for him to continue. He began to tell his story. The pair sat there until dawn, Garnet not saying a word while Avery told the tale of how matters transpired the way that they did.

At the end of the story, both men where silent for several minutes.

"You said you had a question to ask me at the end?" said Garnet finally.

Avery nodded. "Yeah. So you've heard what I told you, so tell me this. Was it worth it? I mean, I guess several good things came from what I did, but also several things that weren't. But now that you see why I did what I did, what do you say. Was it worth it?"

Garnet shook his head. " I can't answer that question." He got up to leave.

"Please." pleaded Avery "Just say something. I don't care if you lie, or if you tell the truth. Just give me something to hang on to. Please."

_Hell's Gates RDA Facility, Pandora. About 7 years previously._

"Ladies and gentlemen, you are not in Kansas anymore. You are on Pandora. Remember that fact." The booming drawl of Colonel Quaritch was tuned out due to boredom by Avery Mason. He had heard it before. Well, not this exact speech, however, but every combat zone he'd been in had the same kind of thing. Each proclaiming the danger and terror the soldiers would face. It was routine. He eyed his watch.

Avery was about 6 foot 2, broad shoulders and decently muscular. He had lightly tanned skin, green eyes, and a relatively slim, clean shaven, face. His black crew cut was covered by a red bandanna. On this bandanna, the words "GET SUM" were emblazoned in white. He kept a 12 inch combat knife sheathed on his shoulder, a 45. calibre black revolver on his sidearm holster, and had a meticulously pump action 6 gauge shotgun perched lazily on his lap. On his right arm, he had a tattoo that said "HOPE COMES ALIVE".

"How long till this shit's done?" he growled at the wiry man sitting beside him. The man shuffled nervously.

"I'm not sure, I'm supposed to head down to the Avatar link chamber, I'm not sure for you guys."

Avery grinned. "You in the Avatar program too?"

The scientist looked up at Avery with a stunned expression on his face. "You don't look familiar. Did you go to the language and biology training?"

"Nahh. I'm security. I got "requisitioned" by the RDA last minute. Very complected corporate reason which I won't get into I did my training with the SEALS." The conversation had thus far earned the two several death glares from the senior officers standing behind the colonel.

The look on the scientists face shifted from shock to puzzlement. "Weren't all Avatar drivers supposed to get at least basic training an instruction on Pandora?"

"Apparently not. Either way, I'm glad not to have had to go. I'm not exactly the sitting in a classroom type."

"Oh okay. By the way, I never quite caught your name. Mine's Norm. Norm Spellman." said Norm, extending his hand. Avery took it and shook it.

"Avery Mason." he said.

"Great!" smiled Norm nervously. "Well, he seems to be wrapping up. We should probably head down to the link room."

As if on cue, the employees began to shuffle out of the briefing room, as the colonel turned to converse with his officers. Avery and Norm made their way to he exit.

"Norm," said Avery "You know where we're going?"

Norm nodded, taking out a map of the complex. "According to this, it should be down this corridor to the main lab entrance."

"Lab entrance. That's where I'm headed." A man in a wheelchair came up between them. "Avatar program."

"Join the club." chuckled Avery. "You a scientist?"

"Security. You?"

"Same"

"We should, uh, maybe go now. I wouldn't want to be late."

"Yeah, neither do I." laughed the man in the wheelchair

The trio began to walk down the hallway.

"Corporal Mason!"

Avery turned to see Quaritch walking towards him. The other two turned around as well, and the colonel motioned for them to move along.

"Colonel?" said Avery.

Quaritch walked up and clasped his hand on Avery's shoulder. "Son, I am very glad to see you here.

"Glad to be here sir."

"If you do not know already, I was the one who selected your file and got you this contract. All that I ask in return is for you to do me a favour. Is that acceptable?"

"Yes sir." nodded Avery

"Good. Now listen carefully. I put a lot into getting you here, so don't fuck it up. I got faith in you kid. What you need to do,as well as defending those science pukes over there, is to be my insurance."

"What do you mean by that, sir?" Avery tried to give the impression he wasn't expecting this.

"I need you, to make sure none of them go rogue on us. See, Augustine and all them, they've been very troublesome, objecting over everything we do that remotely harms the Natives, even if it saves our lives. You make sure they don't directly hinder us, and I will be more than satisfied. Can you do that kid?" Quaritch's hand was on Avery's shoulder, and he noticed that the colonel's other hand was grasping a small bottle of brandy, extended between them. Alcohol was not permitted on base, except for executives.

Avery smiled as he took the bottle.

"Can do, sir."

Quaritch smiled. "Good to see we're on the same page, son. Now get to wherever you're supposed to be."

Avery saluted and walked off to where Norm was opening the door for the guy in the wheelchair. If there was one thing he knew from experience, it was that orders were to be followed without question. He slid the brandy into his backpack. There where perks, of course. He grinned.

Norm looked back over his shoulder. "Oh, hey, Avery right?"

Avery nodded. and scratched his jaw. "About how far away is the Avatar centre?"

"Not too far. Like I said, down this corridor." said Norm. His nervousness was beginning to wear off and he seemed more at ease.

The man in the wheelchair looked up at him. "You got a name?" he asked.

"Yeah. Name's Avery." grunted Avery, extending his hand.

The other guy half smiled, extending his hand "Jake Sully."

The name seemed familiar to Avery. _Sully,_ thought him, _where have I heard that name before._

"Nice meeting you."

The three men walked quietly talking about their lives back home, their favourite things. None of them had a family of their own, no wife, no kids. Gradually, they began to relax, and feel more at ease with the complete strangers that were their company at the time.

"So, Jake. Where did you get your training at." asked Avery casually.

"Marines. You too? I'm assuming your from the North American Federation as well?" replied Jake.

Avery shook his head. "Navy Seals. Not the Marines." a pause "Were you in Venezuela?"

Jake nodded. "Don't remind me about that mess, please." he said wearily, as if his bones grew suddenly tired.

"So, should be getting there soon, right guys?" interjected Norm, desperate for a change of subject.

"You're the one with a map." said Avery dryly.

"Oh, yeah. Sorry."

Hell's Gate's complex was essentially one big building. All essential structures were housed inside of it. Several complementary buildings, including the hangar and armoury were outside.

Walking through the stainless steel halls of Hell's Gates, the trio passed several of the different labs. Finally, after what seemed like forever, Norm stopped at one doorway.

"This is it. We're here." He said.

"You sure?" asked Avery. Norm pointed up. There was a sign over the door saying "Avatar Control room and Storage".

"Good point."

"Well, shouldn't we knock, or something?" Said Jake lazily. He seemed to have gone back to normal.

"Yeah, I guess so." came Norm's reply. He walked up to the door and knocked firmly three times.

_Well,_ thought Avery, _ Now the fun starts._

Almost as soon as Norm had finished knocking, the door was opened by a darker skinned man with a thick black beard who looked to be in his late thirties. He looked them over with a puzzled expression, as if trying to figure out who they where, until his face lit up. He smiled warmly, and shook each of the new arrival's hands with equal amiability.

"You must be the new Avatar drivers. Come in, come in_! _By the way, my name is Max Patel, and I'm in charge of the synchronization of the human and avatar minds."

The trio introduced themselves in turn while shaking his hand. Max committed the names to memory and then walked over to a computer terminal. He entered in each of their names, took a blood sample, and in general made sure that that the newcomers were who they said they were. The machine confirmed that these were, in fact, the new Avatar drivers.

"Alright, you have the proper identification, not that I ever doubted that. Now we can- Holy!" Max's eyes bugged out at the sight of the shotgun in Avery's hands.

"Is there a problem?" asked Avery, trying his best to act innocently.

"Uh, I don't think you're allowed to bring a _shotgun_ into the labs." chuckled Jake.

"Oh, shit. Sorry bout that."

Max was scrambling underneath a desk, much to the amusement for everyone but Norm, who walked over to help. Max waived is hand at Norm, still under the desk.

"No, I found what I was looking for." said Max, before Norm could speak. He lifted up a large briefcase. "Here, put in this before Grace sees it and rips you a new one."

Avery backed up a step and lifted his arms up in a gesture of bon homie. "I got the safeties on, If that would make her feel better." he said, reluctant to hand over his pride and joy.

" Not worth it." said Max, as he and Norm eased the weapon out of the disgruntled soldier's hands. "Trust me, this is for the best."

"Fair enough." sighed Avery. Max motioned to his knife and his revolver.

"Those too." he said "They're just as dangerous."

"Hey man, the shotgun I'll do, but these thing I can hide. And besides, these items stay on my person. At. All. Times."

Max opened his mouth to argue, but then decided against it. Instead he just shrugged. "Fine, it's your skin." Avery slid his pistol and knife into a pocket on his vest.

There hung a somewhat awkward silence, before Jake finally spoke. " So when do we get to use these Avatar things." His voice had obvious anxiousness and excitement laced throughout it. Avery could imagine what he was feeling. To have a chance at walking again? Damn right he should look forward to it.

"Unfortunately Grace is busy collecting samples, but when she get's back, you can give them a test drive." replied Max. Jake looked crestfallen.

"But, if you want, you can have a look at the Avatars right now." he continued.

"Finally! I've waited for so long to see this!" exclaimed Norm, giddy like a child on Christmas.

Max smiled. "Well then, come this way, please." He motioned for them to follow as he walked through the labs and into a badly lit room with several giant tubes. As he got closer, Avery realized that these tubes had figures in them. Giant, blue figures.

"So these must be the Avatars." he whispered, looking through the plexiglass tubes at one of the figures.

"Yeah, pretty impressive, aren't they? I think that one is Norm's, yours is down there." said Max.

Avery walked slowly down to a tube farther down the row. The first thing he noticed was that there was already a tattoo on the Avatar's arm, a tattoo saying "Hope Comes Alive" on it. _Great, they put the tattoo on._ It was one of Avery's special requests that the tattoo was put on. Nobody seemed to mind.

As he looked closer, he noticed that the Avatar indeed did look like him. Albeit a 10 foot, blue, quasi cat version of him. _This is insane_, he marvelled. He couldn't wait to see what he could do in this, what he could achieve.

Something very unusual happened. Avery became excited. Very excited. He didn't show it too much on his exterior, but inside he was almost bursting. _This place is gonna be my oyster once I get in this thing._

His train of thought was derailed by a voice coming from the lab. A woman's voice.

_"God dammit guys,where are my cigarettes?"_


	2. Chapter 2

**Hey guys and gals.**

**Well, chapter three is up, YAY! Hope you guys enjoy this next installement.**

**Wish I owned Avatar... but I don't. I only own my OC's. **

**UPDATE: Adding tons more content to this chapter as I believe they seem rushed. IMO. **

**For those people who have reviewed and whome I took out the shoutout I made to you, I Chapters got shook up a bit, and complications arose (etc...).I still love you all... unless youre not legal age, in which case I will not say that because someone from the government watches over the internet and I don't want to end up in jail, even for a harmless comment. **

**For all those reading this new and improved fic, REVIEWZZZZZZ :D:D:D! **

In the path of Grace Augustine when she was angry was probably not the best place for one to be. This was the thought being processed by Administrator Parker Selfridge as she stormed into his office. Colonel Quaritch debated inside of his head whether or not he wanted to stay and watch, but upon seeing the look on the head of the Avatar program's face, decided against it and left. Her eyes shot daggers into his back as he left.

Parker jumped as Graces palm slammed down on the desk with a resounding crack. She glared at the startled administrator eye to eye.

"Parker, what is this bullshit? Not one, but two jarhead idiots are now supposedly a part of my team," she vented at him, "Are you deliberately trying to piss me off?"

Parker, still regaining his composure only stared. His mind hadn't even registered the fact she was talking. Though he would never admit it, Grace scared the hell out of him, maybe even more than Quaritch.

"Whaaat?" he finally managed to croak out,"I don't know what you're talking about."

Her glare became even more intense. "Those two apes are going to mess everything up, and I want them gone."

Parker, having regained his composure, finally understood who the people being talked about were. Sometimes he thought that nothing positive ever came out of Grace's mouth. He rolled his eyes and sighed in frustration.

"Grace. You don't need a PhD to drive an Avatar."

"Well, having some sort of intelligence is required. And having people who will shoot at the first thing that moves will make the already bad relations we have with the Na'vi even worse."

"Look. I know that the relations with the natives means a lot to you, but how about when those savages attack you on one of your field trips? You'll be screwed."

Grace's face reddened. He still didn't get it. "I don't need any more of you or Quaritch's influence in MY research." she said hotly.

"The Avatar program isn't about research, Grace. It is about getting the natives to back off. If the board had their way, you wouldn't even have the liberty of going on those little nature walks, so be happy with what you got. End - Of - Story," Parker's tone said that his shock at her arrival had worn off.

Grace walked straight out of the Selfridge's office without a word, but not without "accidentally" knocking his prized putters to the floor. She was fuming. "If it wasn't for the Avatar Program there wouldn't BE relations with the natives, but these assholes just have to have their way." She muttered as she stalked through the base toward the labs. She started having very vivid thoughts about what she'd like to do to Parker Selfridge and Miles Quaritch, and none of them were pleasant.

Avatar Lab, 2 and a half hours later.

Avery was staring intently at the myriad assortment of tools on the work bench in front of him. His shotgun, revolver and knife were also on it. He had "borrowed" some equipment; some very high end equipment, from the Hell's Gate's armour vault. All in the name of protecting the RDA of course. He had even been able to persuade Max to let him use a workspace and some regular tools.

Avery grinned boyishly. One of the few things he enjoyed doing was fighting, but another one was to improve and add things to his weapons.

Both his shotgun and revolver started off as something completely different. The shotgun began as a standard issue mark IV shotgun, but Avery gradually added a grip, a laser sight, and even increased the shell capacity.

For his revolver, he hadn't modified too much, only giving it a small barrel extension. But he had given it a custom paint job. Spray painted all black, with a silver dragon coiled around the barrel. This didn't do much, except for increasing the badassery of the weapon tenfold.

This time, however, Avery was not working on his old weapons. They were just there for inspiration. He was working on the weapon he would be using while he was in his avatar. A stripped down heavy MG, the same sort used by the door gunners of a Samson helicopter, lay before him. While it was much too big for his human body to carry around like a rifle, he was old that an Avatar should be able to handle one just fine. That and the amount of "requisitioned" equipment from Hell's gates armoury made Avery a very happy camper indeed.

To start with, he cut the barrel in half, shortening the weapon so tat it wouldn't be as cumbersome. He added a grip and a laser sight, much like his shotgun. In addition, he added a very elaborate pain scheme similar to the one on his revolver. Finally, he somehow managed to fit a suppressor to the front of the modified barrel. He sat back and looked at his work, satisfied. Suddenly, he heard the sound of wheels approaching behind him.

"Hey, Avery." It was Jake.

Avery grunted something that probably meant some sort of greeting.

"We're gonna go into our Avatars, now. Thought you might wanna come." a pause, "Well, I knew you'd like to come, but thought I should let you know."

Hearing this, Avery shifted his concentration from his weapon to what was being said. He turned around slowly, a grin spreading across his face.

"It's about time." He said. The dubiously procured equipment was swept into a duffel bag and put under the desk, while the weapons where stowed in a case along with various grenades and ammunition

As they where about to leave, Max walked in.

"Whoa, whoa. What's with all the gear." he enquired, genuinely surprised.

"Aren't we going out on a mission, or something?" asked Avery.

Max shook his head. "First we have to get you guys into your Avatars, to get you guys used to operating another body. It takes a bit of getting used to." he replied.

Avery frowned. Sighing, he put all of his stuff back underneath the desk.

"Fine. When are we gonna do it for real, though."

"If everything goes well, then probably not until the end of this week. I'm not guaranteeing that however." said Max

Avery nodded. "Fair enough," He seemed satisfied with the answer.

Max motioned for him and Jake to follow.

"So, Jake. How did you end up paralysed? Not to be rude or anything, but just wondering," said Avery, looking at the former marine.

"Venezuela" said Jake. He didn't seem to be as affected as last time Venezuela was brought up, "Got some shrapnel stuck in my spine. Damn insurance said it wasn't covered."

"Damn. So you applied for an Avatar."

Jake's eyes clouded. "No," he said softly. "My brother did. Just before he was about to leave, he got shot. The RDA offered to give me his Avatar if I worked for them. How could I refuse? I mean, a chance to walk again. I'll take it... it's just I wished it wasn't because of Tommy dying that I got it."

Avery kept his eyes fixed ahead of him. He opened his mouth to speak, but was interrupted by Grace.

"Come on, you two. Don't make me wait for you." she yelled, her voice oozing frustration and anger.

Hearing the irritation in her voice, the pair quickly followed her. She glared at the both of them. "Alright," she said icily. "Norm is already in his, now you two better catch up."

She grabbed Avery, and dragged him to a link pod. She opened it.

"Well?" she said. "Do you need a personal invitation to get in?"

Avery almost saluted. "No, ma'am," he said as he climbed into the machine.

"Now remember, head down, don't move, and heaven forbid forbid if you should actually think. This shouldn't take long."

Avery did his best. At times like these, when he had no idea what to do, Avery figured just following instructions was the best choice of action. He was dimly aware of more voices in the background, as his vision began to swirl, and eventually go blank.

He woke up after seemingly going through a swirling purple tunnel. He looked up to see the exopack covered face of one of the medical technicians.

"Hey, Avery," she pleasantly. "Welcome to your new body."

As she signalled for a man in a white lab coat to come over, Avery brought his hand to his face. It became alarmingly apparent to him that it was, in fact, blue. All of him was blue.

"Holy shit." said Avery.

"Now hold still, I'm going to test your reflexes." She suddenly hit him on his knee with a mallet, causing his leg to automatically straighten. Avery yelped in surprise.

Most of the tests passed without event. Avery stood up and looked around. Through a window, he could see Jake being put through the same routine by Grace as he was.

After a couple seconds Jake's Avatar's eyes popped open. The technicians crowded around him much like they did to Avery, except that he unexpectedly stood up and started walking.

"Uh, Jake. I don't think you should do that." said Norm from the other side of the chamber, as Jake's tail knocked over some lab equipment.

The technicians began to panic. Cries of "Stop!" and "Sedate him!" filled the air. Avery started to chuckle. By the time Jake had opened the doors and ran outside, he was howling with laughter.

_Damn, _Avery thought, _this is pretty insane._


	3. Chapter 3

_**So Hey Guys. **_

_**This chapter has been subject to my new and improved methods of making sure it is okay, so I hope you like it.**_

_**-disclaimer goes here-**_

_**reviews are awesome and I really appreciate what you all think. Alot. KNOWLEDGE IZ TEH POWER! WORLD DOMINATION!**_

Just two days after they tried their Avatars, Jake, Norm, and Avery where given their first chance to prove themselves on Pandora. A simple nature walk, was what it was called. The med techs thought that the Avatars synched fine with their minds, and decided they could be sent off on an "excursion", as they called it, on. The nigh before was a flurry of preparations for the three newest Avatar drivers.

In general, first missions made people a bag full of nerves. This one was an exception. Avery just felt excited. Very excited. The only thing bag he wanted was one to barf in, because their pilot was a bit excited as well.

"Can't you slow down?" yelled Norm "We don't exactly have anything keeping us from falling out this thing, you know."

The pilot laughed. He was a large man who looked to be in his late thirties. It was a loud booming laugh.

"What, you want me to take it slow, like grandmother?" he said in a thick Russian accent. "I tell you what, you only have me today. You're regular is sick today. I'm sure she'll baby you."

A sharp turn almost made Avery fall out. He quickly grabbed hold of one of the railings on the ceiling.

_This guy is gonna kill me before I even get to the danger. And it'll sure be a shame to not try this body out..._

The new body was... interesting. At least once Avery learned to duck under the doorways. To him, it was a simple tool, like a weapon. Take care of it, and it'll help you in some way or another. Today, it was helping him and the others on an assignment.

Unlike the others, who wore lighter clothing and a small bag, Avery, and to some extent Jake, packed some heavy gear. Jake was planning on nabbing the door gun off the Samson (basically what Avery was using before he modified his), something that didn't sit well with the pilot. He was wearing a military jacket and pants, with a backpack filled with god knows what. Avery, on the other hand, wore the same standard pants, combat vest, and a camouflage shirt. A few shots of adrenaline, a few shots of morphine, some grenades, some bandages, other first aid stuff all dangled from a utility belt. in his opinion, it payed to come prepared. He also wore his trademark red bandanna "for luck".

This along with the massive 22 inch serrated blade provided for him and his modified MG made him feel like a total badass

A ten foot tall, blue, badass.

Not, however, Badass enough to not be scared half to hell by their pilot's flying. The Badass in question was scared witless by the erratic flying and seemingly constant turbulence causing the samson to shake and shudder like a plate of jello in an earthquake.

The thought of jello at a time like this made Avery's blue cheeks seem slightly green.

"Son of a...!" he yelled, as a sharp turn made him grab onto the railing with his other hand.

Grace looked at him. "I thought you meatheads where supposed to be tough." she said, almost laughing.

"Yeah, well you're the one with the seat." He muttered.

"What was that?"

The Samson bucking sharply to the right saved avery from having to formulate a response.

"Sorry for trouble everybody. Almost hit banshee." came the pilot's booming voice over the intercom.

Avery looked out the window to see a brilliant emerald creature which resembled a dragon of ancient human lore.

"Jesus." he muttered "Ain't nothing like that on earth."

"Ya. Half the things on planet want to kill you and eat your guts. That just is prettier one." laughed the pilot.

The Samson shuddered again, causing all of the passengers o groan and for the Pilot to burst out in peals of laughter.

After what seemed like forever, Avery could feel their Samson finally slowing down.

"Alright gentlemen, and women." the pilot added, glancing at grace. "Here we are, exact coordinates. Call me over the two way when you need pick up."

Grace said a curt 'thank you' as the craft descended. It hovered for a moment, before touching down. She was the first person off, barely waiting for the green light to jump to the jungle floor. Norm followed suit, then Avery and Jake, and finally, the door gunner, whose name tag read "Lyle Wainfleet".

"You," said Grace, pointing at the SecOps soldier, "Go back aboard. Two idiots with guns is enough."

"You're the boss" replied the soldier as he climbed back into the Samson. Avery could hear the loud rotors as it lifted off.

"Alright, boys. Please don't shoot anything, it would really not be beneficial to relations." instructed Grace.

"What if the Natives notice us?" asked Jake.

"Oh, I'm sure they already have." said Grace smugly.

"Fantastic."

"Well, it is their world. They have to be able to know what is going on in it." continued Grace "Think of it in military terms as their form of receiving intelligence on the enemy."

Avery stopped in mid step. "Wait a minute, I thought you said we were on decent relations."

"Sort of."

Avery's finger moved onto the trigger. He wasn't going to take any chances.

Jake was busy running around like a kid, toughing everything and taking in all of the sights. Some of the Pandoran flora was bizarre, some of it was beautiful,and some of it just plain scared the shit out of Avery.

Grace and Norm had both stopped and were taking plant samples near the base of a tree bigger than an apartment building.

Avery casually strolled around.

"Yo, Avery. Check this out!" called Jake, who was standing next to a group of plants which resembled a bunch of giant orange swirls. Jake gently tapped one of them on the side, and it suddenly shrunk to the size of a peanut.

"Holy hell." muttered Avery.

"Pretty cool, huh?" laughed his marine compatriot, " I can just run around this field like this," he began to run through the group of plants, causing to all the plants to seemingly pop, "And presto, looks like nothing there."

Avery froze, his mouth hanging open.

"What's the matter, catching flies?" asked Jake "I mean, I know it was pretty impressive, but not that mind blowing."

"Umm, look behind you?" suggested Avery in a small voice.

"What?" said Jake as he turned around. His grin faded.

There standing behind them was a giant... thing. It let out a ear-splitting roar.

Jake opened fire.

Grace and Norm, noticing the commotion, ran over.

"Jake! Thats a Hammerhead Titanothere!" Grace yelled "Don't shoot it, it'll just piss him off!"

"What the hell am I supposed to do?" he asked as he stopped shooting, "Waive hello?"

"If it charges, just stay still, it's a challenge!"

As if on cue, the Titanothere started to run towards Jake. Avery casually stepped to the side. It kept picking up speed. Just as it looked like it was about to hit Jake, it stopped. It slowly walked back, whimpering

Jake's jaw dropped.

"Yeah," he said, recovering "That's right, bitch. Get -"

A roar that dwarfed that of the Titanothere's took the "some" that was escaping the marine's mouth and slammed it right back in.

"Oh. Shit." said all four Avatars.


	4. Chapter 4

**Hello everyone. My name is SeaNanners.**

**Just kidding. If you get that reference I 3 you.**

**Anyways, so I've figured out more or less where I want to take this fic, what I'm gonna do with it, so on and so forth. But the point's about the journey, not the destination, right? Here's hoping that I don't get lost.**

**Also, I'm skipping some scenes that I assume everyone already knows.**

**So yeah guys. Hope you enjoy the next instalment. Probably gonna re edit the first chapter of Requiem after this chapter.**

**Oh, and btw, just in case anyone was wondering, Avery's last name "Mason" did not come from the character of the same name from Black Ops. I noticed they had the same last name the other day, so thought I should toss that out there.**

**I was gonna put a disclaimer here, but... naaaaaaaaah**

**Keep Rocking, braindawgz (another obscure reference right there) **

_**Also, Review and give me some feedback. It makes writing alot easier when I know your thoughts. Even if you don't like the story, tell me why, and I'll work to fix it.**_

_Jungle of Pandora-_

The group was still trying to grasp what had just happened. They had just seen a Thanator chase Jake through the Jungle, while completely ignoring the other three.

"Sully. Do you copy?" said Grace into her mic. "Sully, come in, over. God dammit I'm even using Jarhead terms and you're still not responding."

Avery frowned. "We should call for a pickup. Maybe he'll see the chopper and signal us." He sat down on a toppled log, scratching his jaw. "If some super-tiger thing doesn't come around the corner."

Norm gave him a look. "It's called a Thanator."

"A what?"

Grace rolled her eyes. "Tha-na-tor. God, didn't you at least read the handbook?"

"Um... maybe I should go radio in an evac," said Avery, quickly changing the subject. He felt the chief scientist's look boring into his spine as he took the radio from a pouch in his vest.

"Charley echo niner-niner, immediate evac needed at coordinates 492-871, over."

"You want me to send someone to save your asses?" said a bored voice from flight control.

"Yeah, that would be great."

Grace threw her hands up in frustration. "You see? You can memorize a 20 syllable call sign, but when it comes to something actually useful..."

"Hey, call signs are VERY important. Without them, the enemy would know our every..." He suddenly remembered exactly WHO the enemy was, "Oh, yeah. Forgot."

Norm chuckled slightly at the clueless soldier, "When we get back maybe you should go over the local wildlife in the textbook."

Avery shrugged, "Maybe. I'll see what time I've got."

The conversation seemed light, however all three remaining members of the Avatar team where worrying on the inside. They had just seen their friend get chased off by a Thanator and, being brutally honest to themselves, did not think he was alive.

The _thump, thump, thump _of a Samson interrupted the conversation.

"Right. Air Pandora, right here for ya." quipped an obviously female voice over the intercom.

The trio got into the chopper, their ten foot frames dwarfing the two door gunners.

Avery asked, "Where's the pilot who dropped us off? He said he'd be picking us up."

The new pilot laughed, "Who, Nikolai? Ran low on fuel, and I was in the area. Besides, I'm supposed to be your regular pilot anyhow. I had an issue where someone swiped one of my door guns. That's why you had Nikolai. Name's Trudy Chacon."

"Yes, yes, I know Trudy," said Grace. "Just get us out of here."

"Sure thing. Always a ray of sunshine you are."

Norm smiled nervously, "Hi. Umm, anyways, I'm Norm, and the guy with the gun is Avery."

"Nice to meet ya," said Trudy as the Samson lifted off. She looked at the weapon in Avery's hands. "Never seen that gun before. New model?"

Avery shook his head, "Naw. Modified one of the door guns from one of the Samsons."

"Hmm. So that's were it went."

Grace interrupted, "Yeah yeah yeah, this is all well and good, the greetings. We got an Avatar missing, and as much as I don't want him, a missing Avatar will not look good. So could we maybe do a pass or two?"

"Sure. Can't guarantee we'll find him though."

The chopper flew over the jungle a few times. They saw no sign of the former marine.

"Look. I'm running low on fuel here. We have to head back unless you want us to join your missing guy," said Trudy as she directed the Samson towards Hell's Gate.

Grace sighed, "Fine. I guess he'll have to stay the night."

They knew the chances of recovering the Avatar were next to nothing.

An hour later the Samson touched down at Hell's Gate.

The three Avatars dismounted from their ride, and said thanks for the lift.

Grace started towards the Avatar complex. "Now after we leave our avatars in the camp, we're going over to Sully's pod and keep tabs on him in shifts. Then..."

A booming voice sounded behind them, "Why? What happened to Corporal Sully?"

The trio turned to see Quaritch looming over them in his AMP suit. Despite the ten foot Avatars, the AMP stood at fourteen feet and its bulk made them look small.

"He's MIA. Is that how you meatheads say it?" Grace growled. "Now leave us alone. We have important business. You know, stuff that doesn't involve shooting things."

From behind the suit's windshield, Quaritch frowned, "That Avatar is very valuable." He turned to Avery, "Corporal Mason, stay here for a moment."

Grace looked like she was about to argue, but didn't.

"Fine. Don't forget to bring your avatar back."

Avery nodded as the two scientists walked off. He walked up to the colonel and saluted.

Quaritch laughed, "We don't do that shit here, son. You know what I need right?"

"I have a fairly good idea, sir."

"Now, normally the rule is no flying after dark. I'm going to make an exception here. I need Sully's Avatar back in one piece." Quaritch scratched his jaw. The movement caused the Amp's hand to hit the side of the cockpit. The colonel swore quickly then continued, "The more people I have in the Avatar program, the more at ease I am."

"Yes sir."

"You are going to find Sully, and get him home, if he's alive. You can be damn sure I'll be pissed if he isn't. Understood?"

Avery nodded. He understood.

"Very good. Get to it, Mason." The Colonel's AMP walked off in the direction of the hangar.

Avery turned towards the pilot who had picked them up.

"Hey!" he called out. "It's Trudy, right?"

Trudy nodded, "Yeah, that's me. You need something?"

"Yeah. Colonel wants me to go find the missing guy. I need a pilot. You up for it?"

She plugged the refuelling nozzle into her Samson as she shook her head. "Can't man. You must have misheard. Quaritch never lets anyone out after dark. Too dangerous."

"He said it was an exception. Besides, he's bent on retrieving Sully's avatar."

"Sorry man, I can't risk it."

"Look my ass is on the line here. Tell you what, I got a bottle of brandy. You do this for me, it's yours.

Trudy chewed her gum thoughtfully, alcohol was hard to come by on Pandora, due to the ban. "Yeah. Alright. I'll do it. But not for too long. Nighttime is when everything this rock has comes out to play." She checked the fuel dial and, seeming satisfied, disconnected the refueling nozzle.

"Damn. Thanks, you have no idea the shit I'd be in if I couldn't get this job done. He had a look in his eye, you know?"

"Yeah. I get ya. But just so you know, I probably would have eventually agreed to do it for free. But since you offered the brandy," Trudy chuckled slightly.

"Awww, you gotta be kidding me."

"Hey, like I said, you offered." Trudy looked around and saw a nearby soldier, "Jenkins. Need a gunner here."

Avery saw a SecOps soldier throw his hands up in frustration, "Dammit, Chacon. It's late, and I'm tired."

"You owe me, man. Besides, it's just a quick drop off."

The man sighed, "Alright. But then we're square." He hopped up into the Samson. "Gawd, no more poker games with you."

Trudy laughed as she climbed into the cockpit while Avery took the other gunner's seat.

Jenkins frowned, "You sure this is smart? Last I heard there was a storm hitting tonight."

"Relax. You scared of a little rain?" teased Trudy as the Samson lifted off.

"Naw. Just saying, we get hit by lightning and we're toast." The Marine turned to Avery, "Why is it that Quaritch is sending you after one guy anyhow? I mean, isn't that kinda risking two guys?"

Avery shrugged, "Maybe. Way I see it, orders are to be followed, not questioned. Learned that the hard way back in Sarajevo."

"Yeah, I feel ya. You gotta pretty much trust that your CO knows what's best, eh? By the way, I'm Dominic Jenkins," said the marine, extending his hand.

"Avery Mason," came the reply, as the two shook hands.

Avery learned that Dominic came from Ottawa, in what used to be Canada. He joined the North American Army straight out of high school, did a couple of tours, then shipped off to Pandora.

"Pay was better. I never joined the army for the pay, I guess, but the bills start adding up, you know? Figure I could put all my eggs into one basket and do a rotation here, then go home and take it easy."

Avery looked at him, "How close are you to getting off?"

"Been here 5 years," said Dominic proudly. "One more and I'm off home."

"Yeah yeah, Jenkins. Rub it in, why don't ya," grumbled Trudy.

"I thought you liked it here, Chacon. You said it was exciting."

the pilot grinned, "I guess I did, didn't I?" She sighed. "Anyways, we're here. Good luck to ya, Mason."

Avery nodded. "Thanks. I'll radio for pick up when I need it." He turned to leave.

Jenkins put a hand on his shoulder.

"Wait," he whispered. "Look, you seem like a good kid. Here's some advice. Once you step on that dirt, keep your eyes sharp, but move slow. Be patient, and quiet. Move first, shoot later, and don't even bother asking questions."

"Thanks. I'll keep that in mind." Avery slipped out of the craft.

"Good," said Jenkins, as the Samson lifted off.


	5. Chapter 5

**Hai der guys :)**

**Well, here is chapter 5. Sorry bout the delay, but unfortunately I have the bad habit of getting distracted very easily.**

**At any rate, hope you guys enjoy.**

**I just want to say big thanks to Gladiatorlady1. She does beta reading for me and I am immensely grateful for that.**

**And, love it or hate it, please review the fic. It makes writing it so much more worthwhile when I know what you guys think.**

**Keep Rocking everyone.**

It had started to rain.

Not a whole lot, but enough. The ground was already fairly wet, and the mud was sucking at Avery's bare feet.

"Gotta remember to bring some damn shoes next time," he muttered under his breath.

Slogging through a rain slick jungle all by his lonesome wasn't exactly Avery's idea of "fun," however he didn't really mind it. The pat-pat-pat of rain dripping from a leaf, the whispers of the wind through the trees, it somehow created an atmosphere of chaotic calm, were one could collect one's thoughts.

When the local fauna wasn't trying to rip him apart.

Avery counted himself lucky. He hadn't encountered a single damn thing in the whole 20 minutes of lonely travel. Still, now wasn't the time to get sloppy. He may not know the names of most of the animals in the jungle, but he damn well knew that they weren't to be messed with.

He checked his communication equipment. No signal. Avery sighed. He wasn't anywhere near the flux vortex so the storm must have been causing interference.

"At least the GPS works," he commented, looking at the digital map on his PDA. "Seems I'm getting close to Sully's last known location."

Avery tightened his grip on machine gun. _Should definitely find out what the "official" name for this is, _he berated himself. S_ad that I'm on the most dangerous place known to man and I don't even know what I'm using._ He checked the tag. M60, it read, property of RDA SecOps forces.

_Reminds me of the days at school I used put a sticker on my pencil._

Avery walked steadily forward, eyes scanning the dense foliage for anything that looked remotely threatening. Only the movement of bio-luminescent leaves met his gaze.

A friend of his had once told him that war is 5 percent actual combat and 95 percent tension. The tension in this jungle was so thick Avery thought he could cut it with the proverbial knife.

He checked the surrounding forest, finger tightening on the grip of his weapon. The alien flora was eerily captivating. Every plant seemed different and unique.

_Like a snowflake,_ thought Avery, _at least when there still was snow. Only damn things falling from the sky back home were bombs, and rain which could burn a hole through your damn exopack._

The second one was true. He had seen it happen. Twice.

A movement made him whisk his sights towards a large fern at the base of an even bigger tree. _Holy hell, _he thought. _That things gotta be the size of a Valkyrie._

Avery's earpiece suddenly crackled to life. He jumped about 6 feet in the air (which is not an exaggeration, seeing as the Avatar's were ten feet tall.) A small monkey-like creature scuttled out of the underbrush and into the tree above.

"You better be looking at your GPS, son," said Quaritch's unmistakable drawl. "There are trees here so big you will get lost walking around it. Besides, this place is damn near impossible to navigate solo."

Avery cleared his throat, "Sir, you scared the shit out of me. Thought comms weren't working."

"Yeah well, we got one helluva tech crew over here. Thought I should share something with you. We picked up Sully's heat signature."

Avery kept his eyes peeled as he responded, "So why don't you send a Samson straight there? Pick him up real fast."

"Because we need ground intel. Besides, that's apparently the territory of one of their groups, Om-mitt something. At any rate, they're mighty territorial and would easily spot a Samson flying over."

"Fair enough. So where's he at?"

"Funny enough, for all the time he's spent out here, about 150 yards North once you hit the waterfall."

"The waterfall, sir?"

He heard a harsh laugh on the other side, "You heard me son, a big one too." The colonel took a deep breath, "You know how to dive, right?"

Avery swallowed, "You're not serious."

"Yeah yeah, I'm not. Still though, find a way to get down there. Report-" A thunderclap resounded as the Colonel was cut off in mid order. Avery quickly checked his earpiece. Once again, he was on his own for a while.

Avery could hear the waterfall before he could see it. The rushing of the water over the falls and it's crashing into the river beneath told him of its power. He looked around, pinpointing a lack of terra firma beyond a certain point ahead of him.

Avery walked up to the ledge and looked down. "That's a solid 200, 250 foot drop. Damn," he whistled. "Now how the hell am I supposed to get down that?"

He walked methodically across the accessible part of the ridge, checking for possible routes. He struck gold on his third pass. A bunch of solid looking vines hung about 5 feet from the edge.

"They WOULD be halfway down," Avery grumbled, exaggerating in his frustration. He slung his M60 over his shoulder, and climbed halfway down so that his toes could touch the leathery surface of one of the vines. Taking a deep breath, he dropped, grabbing the vine at the first opportunity.

"This is too freaking crazy," he muttered. With another deep breath, he dropped again, using the vines as if it were a rappelling line.

After about 5 minutes he was two-thirds of the way down.

That was when thing began to go awry. Avery began to hear yelps and cackles from the top of the cliff. _That doesn't sound good, _he thought. _Those are those jackal things I think... viperwolves?_

He wasn't sure if they could climb down cliffs, but he didn't exactly want to find out either.

"Bad," said Avery through clenched teeth. "Very, very bad."

He began to see dark shapes moving at the top of the ridge. The very sight of movement set off alarm bells in the back of Avery's head so loud he could practically hear the emergency klaxon instead of the cackling viperwolves.

Avery began to step up his pace of descending the cliff, taking leaps that were longer and longer while paying less and less attention to what he was doing. That was his first mistake.

Avery's hand missed the vine completely causing him to instinctively grab with his other hand. The momentum swung him into the rock face rather forcibly. He then began to fall. The only thing slowing him was the little friction being produced by the rain-slick vine as well as his back against the rough surface of the rock face.

Avery yelled out as pain shot through his back, the sharp rocks cutting through his shirt and vest and into his flesh. In a panic, he let go.

That was his second mistake.

He dropped like a stone for the last 50 or so feet, hitting the river with a painful back-flop of titanic proportions. Avery's vocal reaction was cut off by water rushing into his mouth and nose. He lifted his head out of the water for a sputtering breath before the current pulled him back down again. Kicking his legs, Avery tried to force himself towards the river bank. His arms floundering around, Avery managed to grab hold of a thick root protruding from shore, using it to slowly pull himself to dry land.

Avery immediately began to cough the water out of his lungs. This went on for a solid minute before he spat out the remaining liquid.

Avery stood up and felt a sudden and intense pain shoot up his back like a branding iron. He clenched his teeth as he reached around to feel his back. When he looked at his hand it was covered in blood.

"Ah, shit," Avery groaned. He could see his M60 lying on the ground beside him. As he picked it up, some water dripped out the barrel. Avery quickly flicked the safety off and squeezed the trigger. He heard a dull metal clang and an unfired bullet clicked out of the ejection slot.

"Son of a... really?" he grimaced. The damn thing would have to dry out before it could be used again. He slung the inundated weapon over his shoulder. He was down to his knife, and he didn't really think it would do him that much good. It would have to do.

Sighing, Avery pulled out the knife from his shoulder sheath. For a human, at 18 inches it would have been like a short sword. However for an Avatar, it suited just fine. He quickly stood up and flipped it so into an inverted grip, ignoring the pain shooting through his body.

Avery did some quick mental math before continuing. _I'm about 120 yards from where the colonel said Sully was. He probably hasn't stayed where he was, which is gonna make this even more complicated. If I could guess, he'd have tried to make a fire. Either that or I'll listen. _He began to slowly creep towards where his directional sense told him was north. He dully wished that he had his med kit with him. What few supplies he brought were lost when he fell into the river. The rain had subsided, not even a drizzle disturbed the eerie beauty of the alien jungle. Avery was wet anyways, so he didn't really care either way.

Avery stepped over a fallen log. He could here something faint in the distance, something sounding like yelping from a dog. He began to move faster towards the sound, twigs snapping beneath his feet. Avery's grip tightened on his knife. He could see a faint orange glow nearby.

Slowing his pace to a crawl, he slowly crept over behind log to see a fire being extinguished. The only light available was that of the bioluminescent jungle. Now he could see Jake, as well as some other Avatar. Or a native, he couldn't tell.

Grinning weakly, Avery got up and stepped over the log behind which he was hiding.

"Sully!" he called out. "Thank god I found you. You got no idea the shit I had to do to-."

An arrow whizzed by his head. His head jerked towards the Native. "The hell?" was all he could manage as she quickly strung another arrow and fired. Avery instinctively dove behind the log he was previously using as cover. The arrow missed his heart, the intended target, and pierced his left shoulder instead. The force of the blow sent Avery sprawling on the other side of the log. He grunted in pain. Suddenly he became a lot more aware of the gash in his back as well.

"_They are fond of arrows dipped in a neurotoxin so powerful it'll stop your heart in one minute," _the voice of Quaritch reminded him.

Reacting on instinct, Avery quickly ripped the arrow out of shoulder. Stretching his neck to the limit, he put his mouth on the wound and sucked. He tasted the coppery undertone of blood as well as something extremely bitter. He quickly spat and repeated the process a second time. Avery then rested his head up against the log. His left arm was pretty much useless, he could barely lift it. Finally, the blood loss and pain took its toll, and Avery slipped into unconsciousness.

Avery's human body woke up sweating inside of the link pod. He lifted the lid open and stumbled out. He could see Norm, Grace, and Max standing over him.

"You OK?" asked Norm with a worried look.

"Did you find Sully?"

Avery leaned back up against the wall, somewhat relieved that he no longer felt the pain of his incident on the cliff.

"Yeah," he managed to choke out. "I found him. He was with some Native chick. Damn, man. She shot me in the shoulder."

Max's eyes widened, "You mean the Avatar is... "

"Dead? No," he took a breath. "At least not yet. I don't like my... it's, chances of making it through the night, unless Sully moves it someplace safe. Gotta hope, though. Gotta hope."


End file.
